Business As Usual
by joywriter1980
Summary: Just an ordinary day in the delta quadrant...
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Star Trek Voyager and its characters is owned by Paramount / CBS. I'm surely making no money with this.

A/N 1: Written as a birthday present for my dear friend Sira *megahuggles*

A/N 2: A big thank you to elem and Cori for doing the beta for this (you're the best!!) and to Dana who volunteered for some brainstorming when I was stuck.

A/N 3: If anyone is interested: There's also an NC – 17 version of this story available. It can be found on my homepage via my profile.

**Business As Usual**

**C****hapter One **

Tom Paris really knew how to push the buttons of his commanding officers. There was no other explanation for how he could neglect his duties like that. Starfleet protocol normally dictated that even when a Starship was orbiting a planet on autopilot, the officer on duty had to be completely focused on his station in case of a possible, sudden emergency. On the other hand, what was normal about the fact that a once Starfleet drop–out, ex-Maquis, now rehabilitated Starfleet officer was piloting the most technically advanced, fastest and, in his eyes, most beautiful ship the Alpha Quadrant had to offer, 30.000 lightyears from home? For these things alone, Tom thought, Starfleet would surely turn a blind eye to the fact that his back was turned to his console and he was facing the bridge crew, busily entertaining them with highlights of his newest holo-adventure.

"…and just as the bomb showed a countdown of only five seconds left before detonation, I was finally able to deactivate it with the tool I'd built only minutes before with only a hairpin, glue and a wire I'd accidentally found!" He exclaimed, gesturing with his hands as if to demonstrate the actual impossible act.

"Well, you sure seem to enjoy your new creation, Tom. What is the character you're playing called again?" Commander Chakotay asked, chuckling.

"He's called Mac…," before Tom could finish his sentence though, a loud beeping erupted from Ensign Kim's console. At once, Tom Paris was professional again and turned to his station, fully alert.

"Report, Mr. Kim!" Commander Chakotay ordered, sitting up straighter.

"Sensors show that a detonation just occurred in the capital city," Harry reported in a calm voice that belied his concern, as his fingers flew over his console.

"Where exactly?" Chakotay was on his feet at once, moving up to the Ops console to look over Harry's shoulder.

"It's the Ambassador's Residence," and even though everyone already knew, it he added, "where the Captain is."

"Are you able to contact her?"

"Negative Sir," Harry Kim shook his head.

The Bridge crew, well trained as they were, reacted at once.

Tom deactivated the autopilot and intently scanned his screen trying to be ready in case of an attack on Voyager.

Harry Kim, meanwhile, tried to contact the Alavian government to offer their official help, while Commander Chakotay was almost halfway across the Bridge to the Turbolift.

"Commander Tuvok," he ordered. "Assemble an Away Team to meet me in Transporter Room one, we're going down. You have the Bridge!" Chakotay ordered while Tuvok's fingers danced across his console.

Just as the Turbolift doors closed in front of him he heard the Vulcan contact Sickbay and reported in that cool stoically voice, to prepare for incoming wounded…


	2. Chapter 2

**C****hapter Two**

Ten Hours Earlier

"We're in visual range now Captain," Ensign Harry Kim reported.

"On screen Mr. Kim," Captain Kathryn Janeway ordered, as she swiftly stood up from her command chair and took two steps forward, coming to a halt in the middle of the Bridge.

Harry's fingers danced across his console and, within seconds, the big view screen in front of her changed from the normal starry view to the smiling face of a male alien.

His head was bald as were those of the two aliens standing behind him, which gave her the impression they had encountered a hairless species. Two ridges were running down from his forehead across his nose to his mouth, which opened to show three lines of sharp teeth as he started to speak.

"Captain Janeway," he greeted her in a deep, yet pleasant voice. "It's a pleasure to finally be able to talk to you face to face."

"The pleasure is all mine Ambassador Rixx," Captain Janeway answered, bowing her head slightly. "And it will be only a matter of hours until we will finally meet in person."

"I'm already looking forward to it, Captain. I'm sure it will be pure pleasure to discuss the music compilation you sent two days ago with you in person."

"I'm sure that will be possible," Janeway chuckled as she remembered how when they'd first made contact with the Alavian government a week ago, she'd quickly discovered what an art loving race these people were.

Ambassador Rixx gave her an approving nod.

"We're sending you the coordinates for our upcoming meeting now, as well as some information about our welcoming protocols," he gave one of his aides behind him a wink. Only seconds later Harry Kim's consol emitted a beeping sound.

"Message received, Captain," the young Ensign reported at once.

Janeway nodded her thanks.

"Very well; I'll give you some time to study the information now Captain. I'll see you in approximately six hours."

"Thank you, Ambassador. I'm very much looking forward to meeting you."

With that the viewscreen again changed to black, only showing the stars that streaked by on their fast approach to the Alavian homeworld.

Grinning, Kathryn turned to face her crew.

"Well, that couldn't have run smoother. Mr. Kim, please send the information Ambassador Rixx delivered to my Ready Room. I'll look over it there." She turned and began to make her way off the bridge; but just before the Ready Room doors would trigger open at her approach she looked back to Commander Chakotay.

"Oh Commander, I think you should consider redoing the duty roster. I smell a shore leave coming up," she winked, giving him one of her famous half smiles just before she stepped through the doors.

***

Exactly six hours later Kathryn found herself in Transporter Room Two accompanied by her security detail, ready to beam planet side.

She turned to Chakotay one last time.

"I'm leaving Voyager in your capable hands, Commander, treat her well," she ordered him with sparkling eyes that belied the seriousness of her tone.

"As I always do, Captain," he answered with a grin.

"Yes I know," she admitted, looking into his eyes, silently saying words she wasn't able to speak aloud in front of her crew.

Chakotay nodded his understanding and as he helped her step onto the Transporter platform by grasping her elbow; his hand lingered there a few seconds longer than necessary.

Kathryn waited until her security guards were positioned around her before she finally gave the nod to transport.

***

Kathryn took a deep breath as soon as the tingle of the transporter beam faded. It had been far too long for her taste since she'd been able to breathe non-recycled air. She then took in her surroundings in wonder. They stood in front of a big castle-like building, which was encircled by a large, wonderful park. Duck-like animals swam in a nearby pond, and trees and flowers were all around them. It looked so much like Earth in some ways and yet nothing like it, since the trees were blue, the water yellow and the grass shone in a very interesting shade of pink.

"Talk about an eye catcher," Kathryn chuckled to herself, as she turned to her security detail.

Lieutenant Ayala had already opened his tricorder and was scanning their surroundings.

"The meeting point is over there, Captain," he reported, pointing to a way just ahead of them.

"Well then Mr. Ayala; lead the way!" She ordered with a grin, motioning him to go first.

They'd only gone a few metres when they saw Ambassador Rixx hurrying towards them, clad in such a loud multicoloured robe that it would have made Neelix jealous.

With outstretched arms, he exclaimed, "Captain Janeway, welcome to our capital city!"

He came to a halt just a few feet in front of her, folded his hands over his chest, and bowed so deeply at his waist that his nose almost touched the ground.

Kathryn too clasped her hands in front of her and bent down as far as she could, grimacing as she heard a chorus of pops and crackles in her back. Hoping she wouldn't sprain something, she slowly brought herself into an upright position again and stepped forward to shake the Ambassador's outstretched hand.

"Captain Janeway please, let me provide you a tour through our wonderful market to give you a first impression of our world," he exclaimed again in his joyous manner, ushering them to follow him.

***

Kathryn stifled a sigh of relief as she finally was able to sit down again. Even though the walk across the market had been more than interesting, she again had noticed that she wasn't twenty anymore and her three inch heels hadn't done any good either. God did her feet hurt! She actually longed to take her boots off and receive one of Chakotay's famous foot massages, but she was still on duty, a fact that she was reminded of when a glass with a sparkling drink was shoved into her hands. She thanked the servant and tentively took a sip of the surprisingly pleasant tasting beverage as she looked around the room, which was buzzing with voices of the different attendees of this little get-together.

Again she marvelled at the colours of this world. There wasn't a single place where she could see plain white. The couch she sat on was yellow, the cushions on it were violet, the carpet was green, the table in front of her was blue and so on and so forth. Her eyes actually started to tear at the glaring contrast of all the different colours and she wondered if the Alavians were colour-blind.

_Even the damn birds in the cage are multicoloured_, she thought as she stood up to take a closer look at them.

_Birds that suddenly stopped singi__ng_, she observed as she came to a halt in front of the cage. She looked around the room noticing that the whole atmosphere suddenly had changed. The children had stopped playing; the dog-like animals she'd just seen weren't chasing each other anymore, but had disappeared entirely. Conversations, running smoothly only seconds before suddenly came to a halt.

_Something is not right_, she thought worriedly.

One second later, all hell broke loose.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter ****Three**

"…Bridge to Sickbay; prepare for incoming wounded."

The Doctor, who'd been sitting behind his desk, sprang to his feet even before the urgent call from Commander Tuvok had faded.

After calling all medical staff to Sickbay, he was getting the last of his instruments in order when he saw the familiar light of the transporter beam out of the corner of his eyes. He stepped back and watched as the away team materialized in the middle of Sickbay.

Chaos fell over sickbay at once. People were screaming, crying out in confusion or pain. The EMH was able to step forward just in time to catch an Avalian woman who collapsed into his arms, bleeding heavily. The Doctor reacted at once by issuing loud orders to his medical staff.

"Crewman Snyder this patient needs to get surgery; prep her. Crewman Tal, help him!," he shouted, running his tricorder over the next nearest patient. "Ensign Wildman, take care of the less critically wounded. I'll take a look at them later. We need more room! Sickbay is not nearly big enough for all theses patients! And get Tom Paris down here!"

Only moments later, he again heard the familiar whine of the transporter beam and another batch of injured aliens were beamed in. Among them he saw Commander Chakotay, holding the small, lifeless body of the Captain.

He motioned the Commander to a nearby biobed and already had snapped his tricorder open, even before Kathryn's body touched the soft surface of the bed.

"A broken rib has punctured her lung; we need to get her into surgery now!" He informed Tom Paris, who'd raced over to him after entering sickbay only seconds before.

Tom nodded his understanding and moved to prepare his captain for the medical procedure, only to find Chakotay still standing at the head of the biobed.

"Chakotay," he tried to get his attention over the noise of the chaos around them. "You have to make room!"

Seeing that the Commander obviously hadn't heard him, Tom stepped forward and clasped a hand around Chakotay's arm to shake him out of his stupor.

Time stood still for Chakotay as he stood next to the biobed, looking down on Kathryn's small, still body. She lay absolutely motionless, only the ever so slight rise and fall of her chest showed that she was still alive. Her head had lolled to the side, facing away from him and he tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, partly so he was able to see some of her face, but also to give himself an excuse to touch her.

Suddenly a hand closed around his bicep, startling him out of his thoughts.

"We need to prepare the Captain for surgery," he heard Tom inform him.

Chakotay took a second to process the information, but then his mind cleared and the stepped back so the doctor and Tom could begin with their work.

Chakotay took a quick look around sickbay, taking note of who was there and in what kind of condition. He then turned to Tom again and it was now Chakotay's turn to grasp the Lieutenant's arm. Paris only glanced up for a few seconds.

"I'll take good care of her," he reassured Chakotay, at seeing the silent plea in the Commander's eyes.

Chakotay only nodded once, before he finally had himself under control again.

"I'll be on the bridge, keep me posted," he ordered briskly, before he turned to leave.

Chakotay made his way to the turbolift at a fast pace. He would have loved to actually run, just to keep his adrenaline surging and to keep him angry.

He was livid and he wanted to stay that way. He wanted them to pay for this. However, he kept his head and he didn't run, opting instead for a fast walk. Ignoring the stares of the crew, he stepped into the turbolift and spat out his destination.

"Report!" Chakotay yelled, once he'd stepped out of the lift and onto the Bridge.

"All together there were five detonations each in different parts of the capital city," Commander Tuvok informed him in his usual dry voice. "All within seconds after the first detonation. The last one occurred half an hour ago. We've offered our official help with search parties and medical care, and assistance with the investigations. Communications with the government are still functioning, but our demands for clarification about what exactly happened have not yet been met."

"I see," Chakotay nodded. "Please, try to make contact again. I want to speak with the Ambassador," he ordered, stepping onto the lower part of the Bridge and the exact the same spot where Kathryn had stood only hours before.

He looked down of himself quickly and noticed that his uniform was still dirty from dust and Kathryn's blood, he looked a mess but he didn't care.

It only took almost a minute before the view screen in front of him changed and the face of an Alavian citizen came into view. Chakotay surmised that he must have been transmitting from some sort of command centre, in the back people were running around, shouting orders and making communications.

"This is Major Sultanna, how can I be of service?" The Alavian greeted .

"I am Commander Chakotay of the Star Ship Voyager," Chakotay said with a calmness that belied his inner turmoil. "Some of our crew, our Captain included, were injured in a detonation that took place at the residence of Ambassador Rixx. We have rendered assistance to the injured and are treating many of the wounded in our sickbay but, after several inquiries, we still haven't been informed as to the reason behind the attack. I need to speak to someone in authority about what happened and we insist on being involved in the investigation."

"Commander Chakotay, I'm sorry to hear that some of your crewmembers were among the injured and the Alavian government thanks you for the help you've already offered, but let me assure you, we have everything under control," the alien man informed him.

Chakotay balled his hands to fists and willed himself to remain calm.

"Major Sultanna, the time for games is over, therefore, I'll only ask this once. Do you know what or who caused the detonation? We counted five of them, this can't be just an accident."

The Major sighed and nodded silently.

"Commander, I regret to inform you that not all the citizens of the Alavian home world are as open-minded as the rest of us. There exists a group of people who are against contact with off-worlders. We have reason to assume that this group is behind these attacks.

Chakotay started to pace, no longer able to suppress his anger.

"And you didn't consider informing us about this before?" He asked.

"We have to admit we didn't see the need," Major Sultanna explained. "There may have been threats in the past, but never attacks. We didn't think they would be capable of doing something like this. But I can assure you that we already have some suspects in custody and they are being questioned right now."

"I see," Chakotay said, coming to a halt in the middle to the command centre again. "I would like to send down our security chief, Commander Tuvok," he motioned behind him where the Vulcan stepped out from behind his console.

"Commander, I assure you again, we have the situation under control," the alien on the screen tried to soothe him once more.

"Major, our Captain was hurt in an attack by a terrorist group, while she was on a diplomatic mission. You have to understand that we want some answers."

The Major and Chakotay stared at each other for a long moment, fighting a wordless battle with their eyes, until the Major finally relented and nodded.

"You can send him down; I'll transmit the coordinates of the meeting point to you," Major Sultanna informed him, before he closed the link.

"Take Jenkins and Roberts with you," Chakotay said, turning to the dark skinned Vulcan. "And make sure they don't keep anything from you."

"Aye, Sir." Tuvok nodded, before he turned and left the Bridge.

One hour later, Chakotay slowly made his way down to Sickbay again. He was tired, felt filthy and longed for a hot shower and a few hours of sleep but he had to see Kathryn first.

The medical station was eerily quiet when he entered, compared to an hour before. Most of the patients had been taken care of, but the EMH and Tom were still working on the Captain.

Even from the entrance, Chakotay could see that she looked much better than the last time he'd seen her. Not wanting to get in the way, Chakotay entered the doctor's office, sat down on a vacant chair and waited.

He must have dozed off, because the next thing he felt was a soft touch on his shoulder and a cup of hot tea being pushed into his hands.

"Here, drink this," Tom ordered, while he sat on a free chair next to the older man.

Chakotay did as told, took a gulp and coughed when he noticed the tea was spiked with vodka. He relished how the alcohol burned in his throat though; it meant he still was able to feel something.

"How…?"

"She'll be fine, Chakotay!" Tom interrupted him at once. "It was close, but she'll be fine!"

Chakotay nodded, relief showing on his face.

"How bad?" He was finally able to ask.

Tom sighed and shook his head slightly.

"She was hit pretty hard when the ceiling came down. She had several broken bones in her legs and arms and a broken rib that punctured her lung. But she'll be fine now. The Doctor made sure of that," Tom reassured him again. "The Captain will be a little sore for the next couple of days and she'll have to go through some physiotherapy sessions, but I'm sure she'll be up and around, demanding to be released in no time," Tom gave him one of his cocky grins.

"We've attended to all patients and there are only three patients left in sickbay, including the Captain. Ensign Rowe will be released to his quarters in two hours, but he'll be off duty for the next twenty-four. The same goes for Mike; he'll have to stay the night here and be released to his quarters tomorrow with forty-eight hours off-duty. We've sedated the Captain so that she'll sleep through the night and her body has time to gain strength."

He took in Chakotay's dishevelled form and stood up. "Why don't you go to your quarters to get cleaned up and get some rest, too? I'm pretty sure Harry has everything under control up there," he suggested.

"Yes, I think you're right," Chakotay nodded and after one last visit to Kathryn's still motionless form, he left Sickbay.

He didn't even bother to go to his quarters, knowing he wouldn't be able to stay there.

After Chakotay entered the commands into the control panel to trigger the door to open, he stepped forward and came to a sudden halt. The doors to Kathryn's quarters silently closed behind him.

It shocked him that the room looked exactly the same as it had this morning when they'd left.

On the other hand, why would it look otherwise? No one had been in here since the start of their shift. The padds they'd discussed lay forgotten on the table and, with a slight shake of his head, he noticed that the half-filled coffee cup she'd promised to recycle before the start of shift, stood forgotten on her desk.

Nonetheless, so much had happened since then that he'd somehow expected it to show in this room.

He finally managed to make his way over to her bedroom, where he slowly removed his dirty uniform. At first, he contemplated putting it in the recycler as always, but then decided to throw it into the waste bin instead; as he was sure he wouldn't be able to wear this particular one again. Chakotay knew this was a waste of resources and he would be arguing with Kathryn about it later, but hell, if that meant that she would be healthy enough again to actually argue, he would gladly do it.

Even though the sonic shower would be much faster and more thorough, he opted for an ancient water one instead.

The hot water started to pummel his body and Chakotay closed his eyes while he leaned forward to rest his head on the cold and smooth shower wall.

He took easy, long breaths while he tried to block the image of her broken and battered body from of his mind.

Chakotay finally opened his eyes again, only to see red blood stains – her blood – gathered on the shower floor. He watched mesmerized as the red stains mixed with the water, and ran in circles down the drain.

He shook is head to clear his mind, grabbed a washcloth and began to scrub his body thoroughly. He nearly used the entire bar of soap before he felt clean again. His whole body was raw and red from the harsh scrubbing, but looking down again, he was relieved to see that there was only white foam gathered around the drain. Satisfied, he shut the water off and stepped out of the shower stall.

After he'd dried himself, he wrapped the towel around his waist and tentatively moved into her bedroom again. Picking up his comm. badge from the bedside table where he'd left it, he activated it.

"Chakotay to Tuvok."

"Tuvok here, Commander," the cool and stoic voice of the Vulcan interrupted his thoughts, seemingly coming out of nowhere.

"Anything new yet?"

"Negative, Sir," the Vulcan reported. "Our investigation is still running and the suspects aren't very cooperative." Even though Chakotay knew it wasn't possible, he almost thought the Vulcan sounded disappointed.

"Thank you Mr. Tuvok. I'd like to rest for a while now. Please report to me again in four hours."

"Affirmative Sir."

"Chakotay out."

After the affirmative chirp to signify that the link was broken, he pushed the covers of Kathryn's bed back to slip between the sheets. He then laid on his back and pulled the covers up to his chin. Images of her injured body invaded his mind again. Her blood pooling on the ground, her still form, her barely focused eyes. He rolled on his stomach, pressed his face tight into the pillow and screamed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter ****Four**

The first sensation Kathryn was aware of was that she could breathe easier, nothing was pressing on her ribcage anymore. Secondly, she wasn't lying on a stony ground, but on a soft bed and thirdly, it was quiet. No more screams penetrated her ears, only the soft sounds of Voyager's engines hummed through her and she could make out hushed voices. Sighing, she realized that she had managed, yet again, to survive another day in this godforsaken quadrant.

Kathryn slowly tried to open her eyes, but closed them again at once with a grunt as the sickbay lights glared down at her.

The EMH sidled up to her at once.

"Computer, decrease lights to fifty percent! Good morning Captain! Good to see you up and about again!" The doctor said, far too cheerfully for her taste.

She tried to open her eyes again and was relieved that the lights didn't blind her anymore.

"What happened?" She managed to croak out, her voice raw.

"You were hurt in an attack to the Alavian capital city. You were injured in an explosion at the ambassador's residence. A part of the ceiling gave away and you were trapped underneath it. Some of your ribs were broken and one of them punctured your lung. Also your right arm was broken at two places as were both of your legs. Your bones are already properly healed, though; due to my brilliant work," he glowed. "I'm sure Commander Chakotay will fill you in on the rest, as he'll no doubt be here shortly. I was just releasing Mr. Ayala to his quarters.

As if on cue, the sickbay doors swished open and Chakotay entered taking long sure strides towards her bedside.

The EMH looked at her pointedly as if to say _ What did I tell you?_'

Chakotay only nodded once to Lieutenant Ayala before going straight to Kathryn's side. He came to a halt next to her just as the doctor performed one last scan.

"Well Captain. Your injuries are healing quite nicely," he bragged in his usual manner and snapped his tricorder shut. "You'll have to stay here until tomorrow morning," he continued, ignoring her rolling eyes. "I'll come again later to do some physiotherapy with you."

With that he turned to the waiting Lieutenant again, who'd been sitting quietly on his biobed, watching the exchange before him.

"Well, what are you still doing here, Lieutenant? You're released to your quarters now."

"Yes, thank you doctor," the large man shook his head at the grumpy hologram. "I'm off right away. Captain Janeway, it's good to see you're on your way to health again," Ayala said, before he turned to leave.

"Thank you, Mr. Ayala. I'm glad to see you're not seriously harmed, either."

Ayala nodded his thanks before he turned, leaving both of them alone.

Chakotay waited until the doors closed behind the Lieutenant and the EMH was busy in his office before he took Kathryn's hand and placed a soft kiss on her palm.

"It's good to see you again," he whispered as he brushed a stray lock of hair off her forehead.

"It's good to see you, too," Kathryn admitted, giving his hand a squeeze.

"How are you?"

"I feel fine; a little sore, but fine," she sighed. "Please tell me what happened. The doctor already mentioned an explosion."

Chakotay nodded and sat on the chair next to her bed.

"Terrorists, that are against contact with off-worlders set off some bombs in various places on the Alavian home world. The bomb in the ambassador's residence was the first one to detonate; the others went off almost simultaneously shortly thereafter. Over ninety people were hurt. Fifteen died. I'm sorry to tell you that Ambassador Rixx is among the victims.

Kathryn closed her eyes at that.

"Tuvok is helping the Alavian government with the investigation. The group is already well known, but the government didn't think they would be capable of such a crime. They've already arrested and questioned some people," Chakotay said quietly, closing his report.

"How is the crew?" Kathryn asked. "Did Voyager sustain any damage?"

He shook his head. "Voyager luckily wasn't the target of any attacks. And the crew is fine. Ayala was the last to leave sickbay. They're worried about their Captain, though."

Kathryn gave him a small smile.

"Tell them thank you and they can stop worrying."

He smiled back at her, his dimples showing.

"Well I think I should leave now. You need to rest and I think I should actually show myself on the bridge again."

"I think you're right. I'm more tired than I thought," Kathryn admitted already stifling a yawn, while she lay back down.

Chakotay tucked her in and gave her a peck on the forehead.

"I love you," he whispered in her ear.

"I love you more," Kathryn mumbled back as her eyes slipped closed. She was asleep within seconds.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Her head hurt. Correction, her whole body hurt.

Kathryn was lying on her back and something heavy was pressing down on her chest, which made it hard for her to breathe. She could hear a woman screaming and next to her someone moaned in pain. She opened her eyes, but she could hardly see anything.

_Had night fallen so quickly?_

Kathryn groaned as she tried to move, but her muscles wouldn't obey her.

A child was crying for its mother.

She heard some kind of siren in the distance.

_Help is coming._

Kathryn coughed and sharp pain shot through her chest.

Her surroundings grew darker and she had trouble keeping her eyes open.

_I'm not allowed to fall asleep. I have to stay awake. Don't fall asleep. Don't….Wake up!_

Kathryn shot up from her sleep and the padd she'd been reading slipped to the ground. She sighed. Another nightmare. Not the first she'd ever had and not the last. She knew more would follow, but over time there would be fewer and fewer and eventually they'd vanish. They always did.

She stood up, picked the padd up from the ground and laid it back on the small coffee table. She then folded the blanket she'd used and draped it over the arm of her couch.

"Computer, what time is it?" Kathryn asked.

"The time is now 1800 hours," answered the cool female voice.

She'd managed to sleep for two hours since she'd been released from sickbay this morning.

Kathryn had been more than happy to finally escape the doctor's sanctum and she considered this feeling mutual.

She smirked.

_It didn't say anything in her job description __about having to be nice to grumpy, opera singing holograms_, she thought wryly.

Moving to her desk, she sat behind it to activate her personal computer. She'd only just managed to call up the latest reports when the doors to her quarters opened and Chakotay entered.

"Kathryn, you aren't allowed to work," he gently chided her as he noticed where she was sitting.

"I'm not working, just checking. You know, there's this officer who thinks he can let things slip because he's sleeping with the boss," Kathryn joked as he came towards her and gently placed a kiss on her lips. She turned her chair and he knelt down in front of her so he was at eye-level.

"How are you? Did you rest?" He asked worriedly.

"I'm fine and yes, I did rest. I spent the whole day on the couch since I was released from sickbay and I have even slept for a couple of hours. I only woke up a few minutes ago." She kissed the tip of his nose. "I've missed you though," she murmured and bent lower to run her tongue over his closed lips. His mouth opened and he stifled a groan as her tongue slipped inside.

Kathryn grabbed the front of his uniform shirt to pull him closer, which made it possible for her to deepen the kiss even further. Groaning, they broke apart to catch their breath, only to meet again.

Kathryn searched for the zipper of his uniform jacket and started to pull it down.

"We shouldn't do this," he moaned into her mouth and tried to push her seeking hands away dimly noticing that she'd already managed to pull the jacket open. Despite his objections, however, Chakotay shrugged out of the garment and pulled her closer to him, leaving trails of kisses down her neck.

"I'm fine, Chakotay," she sighed as his lips found the sensitive spot on her neck that made her whole body tremble.

In no need of further invitation, he wordlessly picked her up and carried her into her bedroom.

Kathryn cuddled next to him, her legs intertwined with his, her body still glowing from the previous lovemaking. Her head rested on his chest, listening to his strong and steady heartbeat.

"I wish they would stop doing this," he finally broke the silence after a time.

"Who should stop doing what?" Kathryn asked puzzled, not knowing what he meant.

"I wish they would stop hurting you," he explained.

She lifted his head to look at his face and he raised his hand to cover her cheek.

"I wish they would stop making one of the crew have to call me in the middle of the night to tell me you're injured in sickbay. I wish I could stop hovering over your broken body, praying that you'll survive this time. I wish you would stop going on these dangerous missions."

"Oh, Chakotay," she sighed and leaned into his palm. "I know this is hard for you, but this is also a part of my job. You can't lock me up and hope nothing will happen. This is a part of who I am and without this piece of myself I'll slowly wither and fade," Kathryn tried to explain to him.

"I understand, but that doesn't make it easier…," he trailed off.

"I know," she said gently and placed a soft kiss on his bare chest. She then rolled around, picked up the blanket that had fallen to the ground during their lovemaking and covered both of them.

"But tonight you're mine," Chakotay said as he pulled her closer again.

"We should sleep now. You'll have to be on the Bridge tomorrow morning and I'll have to talk to the new Ambassador to see if our trade arrangements are still standing," she said her eyes already heavy with sleep.

"Yes I know," he sighed. "Business as usual."

~~end~~


End file.
